The Government’s decision in the Autumn Budget to freeze income tax and National Insurance thresholds until 2031 paints a bleak picture for police officers, says Cambridgeshire Police Federation.
New analysis from the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has revealed that the Government’s decision in the Autumn Budget to freeze income tax and National Insurance thresholds until 2031 will pull virtually the entire police workforce into the 40 per cent tax band within six years.
In response to the findings, branch secretary Kevin Misk says this news only confirms what members have been saying for years – ‘they are being squeezed from every direction’.
“Our members are working longer hours, facing greater demand and carrying higher risks – yet they are taking home less money. It is completely unsustainable,” said Kevin.
He highlighted that the situation is even worse for Cambridgeshire officers because, unlike their counterparts in neighbouring forces, they do not receive the South East Allowance:
“Let’s be clear, forces around us, including Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and others closer to London, receive the South East Allowance to help offset the huge cost of living pressures in this region,” Kevin continued, adding: “Cambridgeshire officers get none of that support – and yet we face exactly the same financial challenges. Officers living and working here are being left behind.”
The change comes despite more than a decade of below-inflation pay rewards which have meant that police pay is now worth 20 per cent less in purchasing power than it was in 2010.
Even though they are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet, officers – even those at the lowest ranks – now face having to pay 40 per cent income tax on some of their salary instead of 20 per cent.
So-called ‘fiscal drag’ has created a stealth-tax spiral that will swallow future pay awards and accelerate the financial pressures already driving the Police Federation’s Copped Enough campaign which calls for officers to be properly compensated for the toll that protecting society takes on them.
Kevin said: “Our members are being hit twice: once by the stealth tax, dragging them into the higher-rate band, and again by the fact that they receive no regional allowance to help soften the blow.
“The Government cannot continue to ignore the reality of what it costs to live and work in Cambridgeshire.”
Key findings from the Federation’s new analysis
- Almost every officer will be a higher-rate taxpayer by 2030–31
By 2030–31, under current Government policy, it is projected that 97.8 per cent of full-time federated officers will pay higher-rate tax – meaning almost every full-time officer in England and Wales will be pushed above the £50,270 threshold. - Constables are being hit hardest
Constables are the engine room of policing. Yet for the first time in modern history, higher-rate tax will apply to the average constable (99.8 per cent of full-time constables by 2030-31). - ‘Pay progression’ no longer means taking home more pay
Under the Government’s policy, any constable currently serving in 2025 and progressing normally through the pay scale will automatically fall into the higher-rate band by 2031. - Taxation is wiping out the value of pay awards
Average officer pay includes overtime, allowances and specialist payments – because that is what they are taxed on. With the Government’s freeze locked in until 2031, fiscal drag, not real earnings growth, is driving officers into higher tax brackets. The result: every pay award is worth less the moment it is announced.
Kevin further warned that the Force is already seeing experienced officers leaving the service early because they simply cannot make the numbers work for their families.
“This stealth-tax approach will only accelerate that trend”, he added, ending: “The Government cannot keep relying on officer goodwill while eroding their financial stability. Cambridgeshire deserves a police service that is properly supported – and that starts with fair pay for the people who keep our communities safe.”